Game and Game, the same company that once hosted Lunia Story, is again looking toward action based MMORPGs that closely resemble the old beat-em-up sprawlers like streets of rage, captain commando and the old aliens VS predator, arcade addition, with their latest game, GhostX.

Similar in appearance to Lunia, GhostX utilizes a unique style of Cell-shaded graphics which players of Japanese games such as Zone of the Enders and Digital Devil might be able to recognise straight away. But, for those of you new to this style, it might be something of a shock. They are sharp, crisp and bright, characterised by a sleek, urban, or modern feel. It may take some getting around, but once your eyes adjust, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Like I have already said, like Lunia, this game is action based and the main attraction being the ability to leap head first into battle, taking on wave, after wave of various monsters and beasties, collecting loot, levelling up your character, weapons and abilities only to go back out and do it all over again.

The question some of you might ask is; what’s the point in that? Well, I’ll tell you, but if you are already a fan of action RPG games like Devil May Cry or God of Way, the answer should already be clear: because it’s fun, that’s why. And believe me, for a free action based MMORPG, this game isn’t half bad, especially if your comparing it to other actions based sprawlers such as Trinity; what a disappointment that one was. Sorry to anyone who might actually enjoy that game, but for me, it was slow, redundant and full of bugs. In saying that, however, let me just make one thing clear, GhostX has only recently entered its OB phase and is thus, not without its problems.

The game describes itself as an ‘urban action RPG’ and from what I have seen; I would say that pretty much sums it up. The game has a very specific techno, urban, cyber-modern feel to it. Once you have signed up and launch the game, you are prompted to create a character and I will have to admit, options here are lacking as few choices are available in regard to the overall appearance of your character. This should be changed in the future and I’m sure we’re all hoping it does. Anyway, once you have designed your character, you then choose your first nanobot which, more or less, decides the class of your character and the abilities they will be able to use. At first, only three are available to choose from, including the knife, sword and gauntlet. The knife is fast, the sword well rounded and the gauntlet powerful. Don’t worry too much about what you choose as you can create your own later on, or if you have the money, you could always purchase one from another player, and the cash shop too, I should imagine, whenever that opens up.

Movement in game follows much in the same way as other brawlers. You use the arrow keys to move your character, A for attack and D for jump. 1-4 are your quick slots (for equipped items, potions and what not) and Q, W, E, R, Z, X, C and V for abilities. Now, to equip your weapon (nanobot) which follows you about, I should add, you press tab. The thing attaches itself to you, or transforms and you are thus ready for battle. If you want to remove it, simply press the tab button again. You can cycle through the nanobots you have available by hitting the spacebar. There are also heaps of other hotkeys for social gestures and to bring up various menus (items, map, skill, and quest, etc) but I’ll let you figure those out as you go.

The game allows a fair bit of freedom in the way of training halls and things like that. However, there are also quests, obtained through NPCs and missions which are obtained in the same way, then accessed through the world map. Missions are obtained through interaction with NPCs after various events and depending on the level of the player. Once you have chosen your mission from the map, you are taken to the specific screen and must then go about completing the specific objectives given to you by the NPC. Most of the time, this will either include killing a certain amount of one specific monster type, or collecting items dropped by various monsters. Many of the missions also have sub-objectives, which, whilst not crucial, do offer bonuses.

Now, one of the main features I liked about this game was the levelling system. Essentially, unlike most games where only the character levels up, both you and your weapon (nanobot) gain levels. When the player levels up, you gain stat points, however when the weapon levels up, you gain both weapon specific stat points and new abilities. Some of these will need to be activated through the nanobot abilities screen which the game will take you though during one of the initial tutorials, so make sure your paying attention. Another cool thing is the ability to build your own nanobots, thus you are not restricted to your one specific class. Get bored of a weapon and its abilities? Simple, ditch it and start a new one. However, I should point out that it is a good idea to have several nanobots at any given time as some monsters have weaknesses specific to the elements of the various bots.

Apart from the ability to construct new weapons, you can also add things to your clothing (armour) which can be either made up from things gathered from monsters or purchased from the designated NPCs.

All in all, this game is quiet enjoyable. It is, however, a casual sort of game and I can’t see too many people spending hours playing it at any given time. There are a fair few things to do and to discover. Combat is fast paced, which is great for us action fans, with some decent looking skill animations and funky combos, all of which, of course, can be upgraded as you progress through the game. Graphics and sound both fit the game nicely and from what I have heard, the PvP system will soon be implemented and ready to go. The only issue I had with this title was the lack of customization available to players when first starting, yet I’m sure this will be resolved later on (or at least, I hope it is resolved later on).

I think this one deserves a 7/10. Casual and fun; try it.